Have been in the house now for twelve days. It is SLOWLY starting to look like a house. We got the shipment of things that we had stored in Florida: a desk; a dresser; table and chairs; a bed; and boxes and boxes of books and a couple of tools. It took the guys under two hours to unload. We also went to Las Vegas and found a couple of easy chairs for the living room. My wife found a large TV and a washer and dryer and had them all shipped here.
Finally found a desk for myself and a couple of office chairs just today. We spend a lot of time on the computers so good stuff is important. My new desk is small but the room is going to be pretty full so small is better. Leaves more room for books & toys! And maybe I'll blog more regularly since I have a comfortable place to do it from.
You can see we are doing our own little economic stimulous package for America. Mr Obama is taking over in five days. I sure hope he can translate some of his popularity into successful programs. Certainly spending money on the country's infrastructure is something that is sorely needed. I don't know that 'green' is really the way to go but it's an easy political sell.
Here in our little town is a gas station that sells E-85 - that's 85 percent ethanol. In the first place, it's something like $2.40 a gallon while regular gasoline is only $1.90. In the second place, it's made of corn. Using ethanol in motor fuel just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. But the farm lobby is extremely powerful. That's something that Mr. Obama can't change!
Something I'd sure like to see him change is our healthcare system. I think this is the only major country where healthcare is 'private'. It isn't really, of course. Medicare is there for the old (>65 I'm gonna be there soon!). Medicade is there for the poor. Military people have a government funded system. We pay something like $700 a month on health insurance through my wife's old employer. It's not the most I've heard and not the least. When we go to the doctor we pay a set fee: $25. Then the insurance company sends us a statement that says things like: Blood test A - doctor billed $300 - we pay $20. It's all some giant accounting scam.
Gotta quit before I get really depressing. Actually things are going well personally and the country is getting a new leader; the most popular in many years. What's not to like! Have a good one!
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2 comments:
Exciting times all round!
Nice Blog Don! You are right, the American medical system has always amazed me. My wife broke her hip in Tucson three years ago and our Canadian out of country medical insurance sent a Lear Jet with two doctors and two pilots down to pick us up. They figured this was cheaper than having the job done in the USA.
Most American expats living here in Mexico have no medical insurance. Medical treatment is so cheap, they just pay as they go.
One expat down here fractured his hip. Total cost of his treatment was well under $500 USA. This included a short hospital stay, doctor fees, diagnosis and drugs. No operation was necessary but $500 would not even get you in the door of a hospital NOB.
Obama does have his work cut out for him so I just hope folks give him a chance to work his magic. He is sure a breath of fresh air in any case.
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